1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to optical navigation devices, particularly but not exclusively in respect to miniature devices for use in a variety of different applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Current mobile or computer devices use a variety of different navigation mechanisms. Touch screen panels are navigated by means of direct contact with screen. Other devices make use of trackball devices where a mechanical signal is translated into position data to enable the navigation to occur. A further navigation device makes use of a multi-click joystick to enable the necessary navigation. There are problems associated with each of the currently available navigation mechanisms. The touch screen panel has been shown to be somewhat unreliable while the trackball and joystick may also be unreliable as well as relatively expensive to implement.
For larger scale computer devices optical mice have been used for some time for navigation purposes. These devices are generally too large and impractical for mobile applications due to ergonomic and economic issues. In addition, miniaturization of typical optical mice has not proved successful to date.
There is a need to overcome at least some of the problems associated with the prior art.
There is further a need to apply optical mouse technology to the mobile computer domain.